First day of MX5 ownership has been great so far. However, I've traced the knocking on the front nearside to the lower wishbone rear bush. I have a couple of questions:Does the ABS sensor really have to be removed as per mellens.net pdf?I'm thinking, raise car onto axle stands, separate lower ball joint from steering knuckle, remove front and rear bolts of lower wishbone and then press out bush.Can anyone confirm?Anything else I'd want to do while I'm in there.....like bite the bullet now and replace all front wishbone bushes and their corresponding bolts?Thanks in advance.

Please mark up your model.. but presumably we are talking Mk1/2 .. or NA/NB in model codes. Go Google "Miata NA" for Mk1 etc .. miatanet is far bigger as a resource than any MX-5 resource.Not done an ABS car but seem to remember there is a bracket on the shock absorber which passes through the top wishbone.So you could do bottom wishbone without removing ABS sensor but liable to damage the cable from stretching if too rough.. maybe easier to disconnect at the body end as no doubt it is rusted in at the hub end.

Mark your adjusters as said.. in fact start hitting them with Plus Gas a week before to give you a chance. I would have spare adjuster bolts/nuts as they tend to seize. Best tool for the rear was a biggish air impact so you could rattle forwards/backwards to unseize the bolt shaft from the inner steel bush.. otherwise you cannot get it moving with just a hammer and punch; my fronts did not give me so much grief but that was nearly 10 years ago so you may have fun!

I have a big G clamp from Harbour Freight to do the bushes.. but a hydraulic press was used for some; shade tree mechanics burn out the rubber..

Loose adjuster will act/sound like a worn out bush.. BTDT... so I would nip up all the adjuster nuts on car while holding the bolt head (or they can rotate). If it was loose then compare it to the other side as they will be roughly the same place adjustment wise and randomly tightening them will give weird tyre wear and handling.. again a bit of BTDT .. 10 years of playing does that!

So you might get away with just some tightening.

Not sure what bushes you were/are going for.. I had powerflex, Flyin Miata ones etc.. and realistically the OEM are best if a pain to fit. Most of the other polyurethane ones wear out and make the suspension a lot more rigid relative to the relatively floppy body/chassis.. so it drives you toward braces to try and stop the body wobble... so more expense for not that much better outcome.. yes more planted/firm but also more crashy/refined. The only one I would consider would be top outer bushes on the rear upper wishbone if you go super/turbocharged as it limits axle tramp and stops it walking out of the housing.. but that is a niche application for most.